Here's a List of the Best American Gymnasts Ever

Gymnast performing on still rings
Here's a guide to the best of American gymnastics. David Madison / Getty Images
01
of 06

Simone Biles

Simone Biles

Fernando Frazao/Wikimedia Commons/CC By 2.0

Simone Biles has won a total of 19 Olympic and world championship titles, making her the most decorated gymnast in the United States. She took this title from Shannon Miller. 

Biles earned a gold in the all-around, vault and floor in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was also part of the gold medalist team that became known as the Final Five. 

She now holds the records for the most golds won in women's gymnastics in a single Olympics. 

She has earned three world all-around championship titles; three world floor championships; two world balance beam championships. Her list of amazing accolades goes on. She was even named an all-around champion in the U.S. Nationals four times.  

In addition, Simone Biles bested Liukin and Miller in world championships success. And in her years as a senior, Biles proved that she was one of the most talented and dominant gymnasts the U.S. had ever seen.

02
of 06

Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller

BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

Shannon Miller was, quite simply, a stud. She won two back-to-back world all-around titles in 1993 and 1994 and earned the all-around silver in the 1992 Olympics.

Impressively, she was still a medal contender in the all-around four years later in 1996. Though she finished eighth after some mistakes, she won the 1996 Olympic beam title and helped the U.S. team win gold that year, as well.

Miller excelled on the international stage at a time when the all-around competition was still very competitive, too. Three gymnasts were allowed per country into all-around finals, and the former Soviet Union had especially strong contenders in Barcelona.

Miller won two senior U.S. all-around titles (1996 and 1993) and four national titles in individual events. The only major title that eluded her was the Olympic all-around one (though she did earn silver in 1992), and her prominence over so many years makes her a top U.S. gymnast of all time.

03
of 06

Nastia Liukin

Nastia Liukin
© Steve Lange

Nastia Liukin could also make a case for herself as the top American gymnast of all time. After all, she did win the Olympic all-around gold, the one medal Miller never did. And Liukin had an incredibly illustrious career that included five total medals at the Beijing Olympics (silver in a team, bars and beam; bronze on a floor; and that all-around gold).

Liukin tied Miller, at nine, for world medals and won every national title on bars from 2003 to 2008, and many beam, floor, and all-around titles, as well.

But Miller gets the edge over her by competing and medaling in two Olympics and by winning the world all-around title twice. Liukin technically never won a world all-around title, though you could argue that she should have won a share of the 2005 gold, since her scores were truncated, giving U.S. teammate Chellsie Memmel the edge by 0.001.

04
of 06

Shawn Johnson

Shawn Johnson 2008 Olympic Trials
© Nick Laham / Getty Images

Shawn Johnson is arguably the most popular U.S. gymnast of all time, and she's also one of the most decorated. Johnson won three golds in her world championships debut in 2007 (all-around; floor; team) and then won four medals at the 2008 Olympics, including silvers in the all-around, floor, and team, and a gold on beam).

Johnson earned two senior national all-around titles and four individual event titles at senior nationals. She only competed at one world and one Olympics, and though she was mega-successful at both, the longevity of other gymnasts give them higher rankings.

05
of 06

Dominique Dawes

Dominique Dawes

Simon Bruty/Getty Images

If we're talking longevity, Dominique Dawes has to be in any conversation. Dawes competed in three Olympics and is a four-time Olympic medalist (two team bronzes, one team gold and one bronze on floor exercise). She never won a world or Olympic all-around medal, though she was a major contender at both the 1993 and 1994 worlds, and the 1996 Olympics. In each competition, Dawes had a major stumble that left her off the medal stand.

Dawes did win world silver medals on bars and beam in 1993, and she earned the 1994 U.S. national title in dominant fashion: She won the all-around and all four individual events. (Shannon Miller was second ​in every event.) Dawes also won all four individual events in 1996 and won the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials.

06
of 06

Gabby Douglas

Gabby Douglas

Jason Squires/Getty Images

Gabby Douglas may well have had the fastest rise to the top of any American gymnast. The super-talent was the youngest competitor at the 2011 worlds and originally an alternate for team USA, but she ended up fifth all-around in preliminaries (she didn't advance to the finals due to the two-per-country rule), fifth on bars and helped the U.S. team win gold.

One year later, she placed second at nationals (she was seventh the year before), won Olympic Trials and then went on to be the MVP of the U.S. team at the London Games, competing for every event in team finals and helping the team win its first gold since 1996. Two days later, she won the Olympic all-around title, as well.

After taking some time off after London, Douglas returned in 2015 and promptly made the world team, finishing second to Biles in the all-around and helping the team win another gold. No Olympic all-around champion returned to the Games four year later since Nadia Comaneci did it in 1980, but  Douglas competed in the 2016 Olympics and won gold in the team.

In addition, Douglas and Biles are the only two U.S. all-around champs to earn multiple golds in the same Olympics.